Pitti Palace

Tickets & Visitor Guide to the Medici's Grand Palace

⏱ 2-3 hours👤 All ages$$

Originally built in the 15th century for the banker Luca Pitti, the Palazzo Pitti was acquired by the Medici in 1549 and transformed into the principal residence of the grand dukes of Tuscany, later serving as a royal palace under subsequent rulers (including, briefly, the kings of a unified Italy). Its enormous, austere stone façade faces a sloping piazza in the Oltrarno, the artisan quarter on the south bank of the Arno.

Inside, the palace is now a complex of distinct museums. The crown jewel is the Palatine Gallery, which preserves the grand-ducal picture collection displayed in its original opulent manner — paintings hung densely from floor to ceiling in richly frescoed state rooms, with an extraordinary concentration of works by Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio, and others. Adjoining it are the sumptuous Royal Apartments. Elsewhere in the palace are the Treasury of the Grand Dukes (the "Medici treasury" of gems, silver, and precious objects), the Gallery of Modern Art (19th-century Italian painting), and the Museum of Costume and Fashion.

Behind and above the palace stretch the Boboli Gardens, one of the finest Renaissance gardens in Italy (covered separately below). Because there's so much here, focus on what interests you — for most, the Palatine Gallery is the highlight. A combined ticket typically covers the palace museums and the Boboli (and Bardini) gardens. It's a short walk across the Ponte Vecchio from the center, anchoring a visit to the Oltrarno. Allow a couple of hours for the palace, more if you add the gardens.